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Anti-Gay Constitutional Amendment Introduced in Missouri Senate

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New “Religious Freedom” legislation introduced in the Missouri Senate on Wednesday could bring an anti-LGBT constitutional amendment before Missouri voters this November.

SJR 39, introduced by State Sen. Bob Onder (R-St. Charles), would ask voters to prohibit the state from imposing a penalty on a religious organization or individual who acts in accordance with a sincere religious belief concerning same-sex marriage, which includes the refusal to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony or allow a same-sex wedding ceremony to be performed on the religious organization’s property. 

The bill further says the state shall not impose a penalty on an individual who declines either to be a participant in a marriage or wedding ceremony or to provide goods or services of expressional or artistic creation for such a marriage or ceremony or an ensuing celebration thereof, because of a sincere religious belief concerning marriage between two persons of the same sex.

“We agree that freedom of religion is an important, deeply-held value, which is why it is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as well as in current religious exemptions of the Missouri Human Rights Act,” said Steph Perkins, Executive Director of PROMO, Missouri’s statewide LGBT advocacy organization. 

“I hope we can also agree that customers of businesses that are open to the public should be treated with dignity and respect, including those who are gay or transgender,” said Perkins. 

SJR 39, which would amend article I of the Constitution of the state of Missouri, grows the number of anti-LGBT bills in the General Assembly to eight. 

Last year, PROMO helped to defeat a record nine anti-LGBT bills while continuing to grow support for the perennial Missouri Non-discrimination Act or MONA. The legislation has been introduced in both chambers of the General Assembly since 1998 and would add LGBT protections to Missouri’s Human Rights Statute regarding housing, employment and public accommodation.

 

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Colin Murphy is the editor of Boom Magazine. This article was originally published at Boom and is republished here with permission.

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‘Needs an Intervention’: Newsom Scorches ‘Unhinged’ Trump Over San Francisco Threat

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California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom blasted President Donald Trump over his seemingly arbitrary threat to deploy the U.S. military to San Francisco. The president pointed to what he called out-of-control crime and described the city as a “mess,” but state and local leaders — vowing to “resist” his efforts — say his allegations are baseless.

The Guardian on Thursday characterized the president’s claims as “hyperbolic,” and reported that San Francisco “is on track to have the lowest number of homicides in more than 70 years, according to a recent San Francisco Chronicle analysis.”

“The president,” Newsom said to reporters at a press conference announcing state-sponsored $11 insulin, “his latest assertion that he was going to come to San Francisco — on what basis? He didn’t even claim — there’s no pretext anymore. Let’s disabuse ourselves that there has to be a pretext with Donald Trump, that there’s anything that would justify that.”

“There’s no existing protest in a federal building,” the governor explained. “There’s no operation that’s being impeded. I guess it’s just a ‘training ground’ for the President of the United States,” he said, invoking Trump’s earlier words suggesting how the military should look at American cities.

California Democratic State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday said, “Contrary to Trump’s lie, no ‘government officials’ here have requested federal occupation. We don’t need Trump’s authoritarian crackdown in our city. Bottom line: stay the h– out of San Francisco.”

Newsom called Trump’s threat to militarize San Francisco “grossly illegal” and “immoral.”

State Attorney General Rob Bonta threatened to take the Trump administration to court if the President sends the National Guard to San Francisco.

“It’s rather delusional,” Newsom said of Trump’s threat.

“And increasingly, this president appears unhinged, unmoored by reality and facts, seems listless,” he charged. “He seems, dare I say, in decline — cognitively — and, dare I say, forgive me? Perhaps unfair, physically.”

“These are just rantings of someone that needs an intervention,” Newsom added. “Needs some help. Needs to be stabilized, dare I say?”

 

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‘Deliberate Incitement’: Outrage as White House Claims Dems Cater to ‘Hamas Terrorists’

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is under fire after alleging that Democrats are catering to “Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals.”

“The Democrat Party’s main constituency are made up of Hamas terrorists, illegal aliens, and violent criminals,” Leavitt said on Fox News on Thursday afternoon.

“That is who the Democrat Party is catering to — not the Trump administration, and not the White House, and not the Republican Party, who is standing up for law abiding Americans, not just across the country, but around the world.”

Leavitt did not explain why the Democratic Party should be catering to the Republican Party or to the Trump administration.

READ MORE: Trump Focused on Bailout for Farmers Loyal to Him ‘For a Really Long Time’ Says Official

Critics blasted the Press Secretary.

Former Obama senior advisor Dan Pfeiffer wrote: “This s– is so f– dangerous and everyone on the Republican side just nods along.”

Human Rights Campaign National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf asked, “Remember when they pretended to want to ‘turn down the temperature’?”

Veteran journalist John Harwood called Leavitt’s remarks “disgusting b–.”

Dylan Williams, Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center for International Policy warned: “How is this anything other than deliberate incitement that risks leading to deadly violence?”

“This is INCREDIBLY dangerous framing,” declared author Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat pilot, “and should make the hair on the back of your next stand, whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, or Independent. And it’s also patently false.”

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Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick noted that Hillary Clinton’s “‘Deplorables’ was a scandal for years and she wasn’t even in the government yet. This is the White House Press Secretary, whose salary is paid by the American public.”

Journalist Ahmed Baba wrote: “In a sane reality, this insane comment would’ve ended the career of any other press secretary. In this reality, it’s a just another Thursday. But when the Trump fever breaks, and it will break, these people will have to reckon with the digital footprints of their own depravity.”

READ MORE: Johnson Wavers After Agreeing to Debate Jeffries ‘Anywhere Anytime’

 

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Trump Focused on Bailout for Farmers Loyal to Him ‘For a Really Long Time’ Says Official

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President Donald Trump has for weeks been talking about providing a bailout for America’s farmers harmed by his tariff policies, especially soybean farmers whose top buyer, China, hasn’t bought any U.S. soybeans since at least May.

Multiple figures have been tossed around for the bailout, possibly between $10 billion and $14 billion, but no firm plans reportedly have been set.

Wondering who and which farming sectors would benefit from the bailout, Fox Business host Stuart Varney asked Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins on Thursday, “Will every farmer get some money in this bailout? All of them? Or is it targeted to one group of farmers?”

Her answer reflected politics more than policy.

READ MORE: ‘I Don’t Like Being Mad Mike’: Johnson ‘Upset’ Over Dems’ Health Care Demands

“Obviously,” Secretary Rollins replied, “the president remains very focused on, as he has said, all along — he calls them ‘his farmers,’ but those who have been with him for a really long time, from the very beginning.”

Rollins went on to say that “we’ve been very clear all along, while we’re working on what that package looks like, we’re not even entirely sure what the damage is yet, so it’s hard to craft the confirmed solution as every day goes on, and we’re working to sell more of our soybeans and sorghum and wheat across the world.”

Asked about the $20 billion to $40 billion bailout President Trump has reportedly decided to give to Argentina, a direct competitor of America’s soybean farmers, Secretary Rollins said: “The president’s focus remains 100% on America first.”

CNN on Wednesday called it “$20 billion to save the political career of a foreign ally of President Donald Trump. The US is putting up $20 billion for a currency swap to prop up the Argentinian peso ahead of elections there this month, with the aim of bolstering Argentine President Javier Milei, a Trump ally.”

READ MORE: Johnson Wavers After Agreeing to Debate Jeffries ‘Anywhere Anytime’

U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) on Wednesday blasted the Argentina bailout.

“While family farmers in Minnesota and Maine are losing business to Argentina, the Trump Admin is organizing a $40 billion bailout to Argentina — because who needs to reopen the government when you could just spend all your time and energy finding taxpayer dollars to give to our top agricultural competitors?”

READ MORE: ‘I Don’t Accept Pinky Promises’: AOC Sets Hard Line on Ending the Shutdown

 

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